Héctor Elpidio Acosta Restituyo (born May 23, 1967), better known as Héctor Acosta "El Torito" (Héctor Acosta "The Little Bull") or simply Héctor Acosta, is a Merengue and

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...

singer, and politician from the Dominican Republic. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, he was elected

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

representing the

Monseñor Nouel Province Monseñor Nouel () is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Cibao, central region of the Dominican Republic. It was split from La Vega Province, La Vega province in 1982. Name The province is named after Monseñor Dr. Adolfo Alej ...

before the

Senate of the Dominican Republic The Senate of the Dominican Republic () is the upper house in the bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic, and together with the Chamber of Deputies makes up the Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Thir ...

; he was reelected in 2024. Acosta was the lead singer for the Dominican band Los Toros Band (The Bull Band). They were mostly a merengue band who in the late 1990s started to perform bachata songs which would gain huge success. In the mid-2000s he continued as a solo artist and would gain bigger success with hits like " Me Voy", "Con Que Ojos", "Tu Primera Vez", "Me Duele La Cabeza", "Levántate", " Amorcito Enfermito", among others. Some of his hits have reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Tropical Songs The ''Billboard'' tropical charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Tropical Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Tropical Airplay, which initially rank the most-played song ...

chart. He has released seven studio albums in which three of them have been certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the United States by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). Acosta is considered one of Dominican music's greatest musicians.

Early life

Acosta was born on

Bonao Bonao is a city in the Cibao region of Dominican Republic. It is the capital of the Monseñor Nouel province. The city is located in the center of the country, to the northwest of the national capital Santo Domingo. The city is known as "Villa ...

Monseñor Nouel Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (12 December 1862, Santo Domingo – 26 June 1937) was an archbishop, educator and interim president of the Dominican Republic. Early life and education Nouel was born to Carlos Rafael Nouel y Pierret, a Do ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

on May 23, 1967. He is the son of Elpidio Acosta, a school teacher and Seferina Irene Restituyo. He is the oldest of two brothers. At an early age, he was involve in music as he was part of a church choir in his hometown. This would help him in his singing, even though he originally was trying to pursue a career in baseball. In 1982, he participated in a voice festival contest by a local radio station named Novel Radio. He won first prize in the contest. This would eventually lead him to a career in music.

Career

Early career (1982–1989)

Acosta formed La Renovación Quisqueyana (The Quisqueyan Renovation/Renewal) along with members from the church choir he was a part of. This group had characteristics similar to another merengue group Los Paymasi. Two years later, Acosta left the group to join another group called Los Gentiles (The Gentle Ones), who were considered the most refined group in the city of

at the time. In the late 1980s, Acosta worked for Dominican merengue band

Los Hermanos Rosario Los Hermanos Rosario (''The Rosario Brothers'' in English) is a merengue band, originally consisting of brothers Toño Rosario, Pepe, Rafa, Tony and Luis. History Los Hermanos Rosario is an emblematic merengue music band from the Dominican ...

(The Rosario Brothers). He worked as a back-up vocalist and covered for one of its members,

Toño Rosario Máximo Antonio del Rosario (born November 3, 1955), professionally known as Toño Rosario, is a Dominican Grammy Award-nominated musician, best known for his role of bandleader of Merengue music act Los Hermanos Rosario. In 1990, he started his ...

, who at the time took a leave of absence due to legal issues. Also, Acosta's voice at the time resembled Toño's voice. He would eventually meet the band's manager Gerardo Díaz, known as El Toro (The Bull), who would eventually also become his manager as he would convince Acosta to be part of the band that would be known as Los Toros Band. Acosta left The Rosario Brothers to be the lead singer of Díaz's band.

Los Toros Band (1990-2006)

In 1990, Los Toros Band (The Bull Band) was formed and released their debut album ''Se Soltaron Los Toros'' (The Bulls Have Released Themselves). The album gained huge success on radio. On May 4, 1991, Acosta would officially start doing presentations as the lead vocalist and leader of the band and would start making appearances at concerts, parties, and on TV shows. Since then, they gained success with multiple merengue hits. Later on they would release bachata songs that would eventually establish the group to be seen as a bachata band as well, thus giving them international fame in the process. In 2006, he would depart from the band to pursue a solo career. Prior to his departure there were issues between him and the record label Los Toros Records (The Bull Records), which was owned by Gerardo Díaz and his brother Juan Pablo Díaz. From late 2005 to early 2006, Acosta was in a legal battle to get out of his contract. Also, the group was not allowed to perform live or the record label would sue them. Eventually, an agreement was made and Acosta was no longer a member of Los Toros Band.

Starting a solo career, more international exposure, and becoming a bachata star (2006-2009)

In late 2006, he embarked in a solo career and signed with D.A.M. Productions. On October 24, 2006, he released his debut solo album '' Sigo Siendo Yo'' (''I Continue Being Me''). It peaked at number 19 on the ''

Tropical Albums The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

chart. A special edition was released on March 25, 2009, which featured music videos and a photo gallery. The special edition was distributed by

Venemusic Vene Music is an independent Latin music record label based in Coral Gables, Florida. The label is affiliated with Universal Music Latin Entertainment. Divisions * Siente Music Roster * Chico & the Gypsies *Cosculluela * Crazy Design & Carlitos ...

and Universal Music Latin Entertainment. These labels would eventually distribute his albums. This was a predominantly merengue album and featured the merengue single "¿Cómo Me Curo?" ("How Do I Cure Myself?"). Even though this is mostly a merengue album, it featured two bachata singles that became the most successful songs from the album. The singles were "Primavera Azul" ("Blue Spring") and " Me Voy" ("I'm Leaving"), which was written by

Romeo Santos Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the Bachata (music), bachata group Aventura (band), Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión ...

and it is a bachata cover of a merengue song by Aventura. Later on, Romeo, who was the group's lead singer, was featured in a remix of the cover, which was added to another album. They would perform the song together at Aventura's concert at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. The live performance was featured on the group's third live album Kings of Bachata: Sold Out at Madison Square Garden. With the success Acosta was gaining in bachata, he started to make albums with more bachata songs. His next albums would either be hybrids of bachata and merengue, or predominantly bachata. He released his second solo album '' Mitad / Mitad'' (''Half / Half'') on April 15, 2008, and it was distributed by Venevision International Music and

Machete Music Machete Music is an urban music label owned by Universal Music Group. The label was once largely associated with reggaeton music, but in recent years, it has also signed non-reggaeton artists such as Malverde, Mala Rodriguez and Chino XL. The l ...

. It features a cover of

Jorge Celedón Jorge Celedón also known as Jorgito Celedón is a Colombian musician and singer of vallenato music. Celedón was one of the backup singers for the vallenato group Binomio de Oro de America who joined after the death of Rafael Orozco Maestre. In ...

's song "Sin Perdón" which became a number one hit on the ''

chart. It also features the single "Con Que Ojos" ("With What Eyes"). On the ''Billboard'' charts, the album peaked at number 62 on the

Top Latin Albums Top Latin Albums (formerly Latin 50) is a record chart published by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the United States, American music market. ...

chart, and at number 5 on the

chart. It was certified

in the U.S. by the

(RIAA) for shipping 30,000 copies in the US. This is the album that includes the remix of " Me Voy" with

. The remix peaked at number 48 on the ''

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin music, Latin songs, published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart ranki ...

chart and at number 15 on the ''

chart. The album also featured a song of reggaeton and bachata with Latin rap group El Pueblo. In the same year, he released his first concert film ''En Vivo'' (''Live''). In the same year, Acosta and Celedón performed a duet titled "Me Vió Llorar" ("Saw Me Weep") which is bachata and vallenato mixed song. It reached number one on the ''

. He then was featured in the song "Vicio Del Pecado" ("Vice Of Sin") by Puerto Rican duo R.K.M & Ken-Y as part of the duo's second studio album The Royalty: La Realeza. On May 26, 2009, he released his third album '' Simplemente... El Torito'' (''Simply... The Little Bull''). It featured collaborations with Marcy Place, Bachata Heightz,

Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1979), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is also known as the " King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The ...

, and R.K.M & Ken-Y. It gain more success then the previous album as it was certified

by the

(RIAA) for selling 50,000 copies in the United States. On the ''Billboard'' charts, it peaked at number 21 on the

Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart, at number 20 on the

chart, and at number 2 on the

chart. The album included the singles "Me Vio Llorar" ("She Saw Me Cry") bachata only version, "No Me Lloren" ("Don't Cry For Me"), "Me Puedo Matar" ("I Could Die") with Bachata Heightz, and "Tu Primera Vez" ("Your First Time"), along with a remix featuring reggaeton duo R.K.M & Ken-Y.

''Oblígame'', ''Con El Corazón Abierto'', and ''La Historia... Mis Exitos'' (2010-2014)

In 2010 he released his first solo compilation album ''The Ultimate Bachata Collection''. It is a greatest hits album containing his greatest hits as a solo artist and bachata hits from his time in Los Toros Band. In the same year, he released his second concert film ''Una Noche con El Torito'' (''One Night with El Torito''). On October 19, 2010, he released his fourth studio album '' Oblígame'' (''Obligate Me''). It featured a collaboration with Mexican singer

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, he is the son of the Mexican singer Vicente Fernández. Nicknamed as " El Potrillo" by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million rec ...

in a bachata version of Fernández's song "

Se Me Va La Voz "Se Me Va la Voz" () is a Spanish language song by Mexican people, Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández released as the lead single (music), single from his seventh studio album, ''Dos Mundos: Evolucion''. The music video of the song was released ...

" ("I Lose My Voice"). It sold 30,000 copies in the U.S., thus being certified

by the

(RIAA). On the ''Billboard'' charts, it peaked at number 24 on the

chart, at number 13 on the

chart, and at number 2 on the

chart. It received a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

nomination for Best Contemporary Tropical Album. It included the single "Me Duele La Cabeza" (My Head Hurts), which on the ''Billboard'' charts, it peaked number 47 on the

chart, and at number 3 on the

Tropical Airplay The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

chart. In 2011, he released his second compilation album ''The Ultimate Merengue Collection''. The album contained studio and live versions of merengue hit songs from his solo career and from Los Toros Band. On August 21, 2012, he released his fifth studio album '' Con El Corazón Abierto'' (''With An Open Heart''). It featured a collaboration with Mexican-American singer

Pepe Aguilar José Antonio Aguilar Jiménez (born 7 August 1968), better known as Pepe Aguilar, is a Mexican singer. - Accessed on June 17, 2011. From a young age, Aguilar accompanied his parents, singer-actors Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre on tour ...

. On the ''Billboard'' charts, it peaked at number 33 on the

chart, at number 16 on the

chart, and at number 3 on the

chart. Its lead single "Tu Veneno" ("Your Venom") peaked at number 42 on the

chart and at number 1 on the

chart, thus becoming his third number-one single on the chart. The album also includes the song "Para Llegar A Donde Estoy" ("To Get To Where I At"), which was released as a single in 2014 to promote his third compilation album ''La Historia... Mis Exitos'' (''The History... My Hits''). The album was released on April 3, 2014.

Continued success, ''Merengue Y Sentimiento'', and ''Este Soy Yo'' (2015-present)

October 16, 2015, Acosta release his sixth studio album '' Merengue Y Sentimiento'' (''Merengue And Feelings'').It features a collaboration with Mexican band La Original Banda El Limón de Salvador Lizárraga (Salvador Lizárraga's Original Lemon Band) and Puerto Rican singer

Manny Manuel Cruz Manuel Hernández Santiago (born December 1, 1972), known artistically as Manny Manuel, is a Puerto Rican musician and singer of merengue, bolero, and tropical music. He became famous first as a member of the group Los Sabrosos del Mereng ...

. It includes the singles, "Ojalá" ("Hopefully"), "O Te Vas o Me Voy Yo" ("Either You Leave or I Leave"), "Es Urgente" ("It's Urgent"), " Amorcito Enfermito" ("Sick Sweetheart") which became one of his most successful songs of his career. It peaked at number 2 on the ''

Monitor Latino Monitor Latino (stylised monitorLATINO) is a singles chart founded in 2003 which ranks songs on chart based on airplay across radio stations in Latin American countries and Hispanic radio stations in the United States using the Radio Tracking Data ...

s Dominican Republic Bachata chart. It also peaked at number 1 on the

. The song became a success as a meme due to the line "se murio" (It died). On November 1, 2018, he was featured in the bachata version of the single "Mala Suerte" ("Bad Luck") by Puerto Rican Urban artist

Jory Boy Nova & Jory were a reggaeton duo. Nova was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Jory was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They started their career in 2003 and were signed to Loud Music at the time of their split. Their debut and only album ''Mucha Cal ...

. On October 11, 2019, he released the single "Con Los Ojos Cerrados" ("With The Eyes Closed") with Dominican merengue singer

Milly Quezada Milagros del Rosario Quezada Borbón (born May 21, 1955) is a Dominican-American singer specializing in Merengue. She is a four-time Latin Grammy Award winner and has been referred to as the "Queen of Merengue" because of her impact on the wo ...

. On November 29, 2019, he then released the greatest hits album, ''Los Número Uno'' (''The Number Ones''). On May 20, 2022, He released his seventh studio album '' Este Soy Yo'' (''This is Me''). It includes the singles "Antes del Lunes" ("Before Monday"), "Yo Sé" ("I Know"), "Pa' Que Me Perdones" ("So You Can Forgive Me"), and "Pecador" ("Sinner"). These singles were released between 2019 and 2022. On March 7, 2023, he released "Somos Dominicanos" ("We're Dominicans") with Dominican rapper El Piro. On August 10, 2023, he released the song "La Despedida" ("The Farewell") with Ecuadorian pop singer Javier Neira and Mexican singer Alan Ramírez.

Discography

The following is his discography list:

Studio albums

* '' Sigo Siendo Yo'' (2006) * '' Mitad / Mitad'' (2008) * '' Simplemente... El Torito'' (2009) * '' Oblígame'' (2010) * '' Con El Corazón Abierto'' (2012) * '' Merengue Y Sentimiento'' (2015) * '' Este Soy Yo'' (2022)

Live albums

* ''Tipico'' (2004) - J&N Records

Compilation albums

* ''The Ultimate Bachata Collection'' (2010) * ''The Ultimate Merengue Collection'' (2011) * ''La Historia... Mis Exitos'' (2014) * ''Los Número Uno'' (2019)

Concert Films

* ''En Vivo'' (2008) * ''Una Noche Con El Torito'' (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Hector 20th-century Dominican Republic male singers 21st-century Dominican Republic male singers Dominican Republic male songwriters Latin music songwriters Merengue musicians Bachata singers Spanish-language singers of the Dominican Republic People from Bonao Living people 1967 births